Simon's Blog

No where is the "Tragedy of the Commons" played out more clearly than in the major cities around the globe. We have reached an era where individual car ownership is no longer a necessity, but a burden on the collective. While owning an automobile was once convenient—perhaps even essential—the physical limits of our urban centers have been reached. Today, the decision to own and operate a vehicle often ignores the environmental, social, and structural costs imposed on the community. In dense cities, land is a finite resource; every acre used for parking or sprawling interchanges is an acre stolen from schools, libraries, or green spaces. By prioritizing the convenience of the automobile, we have inadvertently eroded the quality of life for everyone. The current road crisis is best understood through the lens of "the commons"—resources held in trust for the benefit of the entire community rather than a single entity. Historically, commons were managed through local s...

Authenticity is one of those topics that’s both deeply personal and intensely academic. Often, it’s about how we feel vs how we think. Defining Authenticity Authenticity is the alignment of internal beliefs and values and our external actions. It is the state where your beliefs and values match your actions. Why is it difficult? Living this way is extremely hard because we are biologically wired for belonging and to be part of a community. Evolutionarily, being cast out of the "tribe" meant not only abandonment but death. To be authentic often requires us to risk disapproval, break norms, or disappoint the people we love. It’s a constant negotiation between the need to be real and the need to be accepted. Peeling Back the Onion Peeling back the onion is an excellent starting point because it acknowledges that much of our identity is inherited, not chosen. We are born into "scripts"—religious, cultural, and familial—that we follow before we even know we have a ch...